Forgive me, but I just couldn’t help laughing at the sign that says “Deforestation” while a pile of logs lay in the background. To be fair, the Peoria Park District did re-use as many of the trees as they could in building the Africa exhibit as is evident to anyone who visits.

Here’s some other pictures. It’s quite nice, but the “older” section appears to be now closed.

This is the walking bridge that lines the ‘Savanna Grassland’ which features Giraffes, Rhinos and Zebras.

A few other photos…

The focal point of the ‘Zambezi River Village’

The giraffe holding pen. Note the extra tall doors.

A view of the Lion’s Den. The rock in the center is heated, giving the Lion a good reason to sit there in dramatic fashion. The boulders are made of re-bar, wrapped with wire mesh, sprayed with a cement mixture, spray painted, and finally hand-painted by an artist to produce the rich colors, shadowing and weathered effects.

I’ll agree with Billy that this is a cool diamond, and it is also my understanding that this one will survive the Zoo expansion, but… [editorial coming]… who cares? I have yet to see, in all my years of visiting Glen Oak Park, a single person playing baseball, or even catch, on either of the two Glen Oak ballfields. So I ask, what’s the big deal and why the outcry from the anti-Zoo Expansion activists over losing one of two unused ballfields?